Still windy

You can't have failed to notice the wind and rain this week, and whilst it has not blown anything unusual in yet we have seen our Black-tailed Godwit flock increase in size and colour! We're also seeing a number of Mediterranean Gulls this week.

You can't have failed to notice the wind and rain this week, and whilst it has not blown anything unusual in yet we have seen our Black-tailed Godwit flock increase in size and colour! Several brick-red summer plumage birds are not present in the flock and many more are starting their moult. We're also seeing a number of Mediterranean Gulls this week, in a variety of ages and plumages.

South Lake
A presumed second summer Mediterranean Gull was close to the Discovery Hide this morning, the bird has just a few faint black flecks in the primaries (see main photo). On the wader scrape were at least 414 Black-tailed Godwit with a single Ruff hidden amongst them. Other waders included 16 Avocet and two pairs of Oystercatcher. There were four Cormorant on the deep lake and a Kingfisher flew past.

Kingfisher Hide
Both the male and female Kingfishers were seen this morning, in and out of nesting hole. A Little Egret and a Crane were in the Bottom New Piece field along with the first arrival of Golden Plover. More should drop in as the day progresses.

Holden Tower
At least 104 White-fronted Geese were on the Dumbles this morning with another 49 birds in Tack Piece field along with 215 Barnacle Geese. Also on the Tack Piece were 39 Curlew, 12 Redshank, two Black-tailed Godwit plus around 1000 Wigeon. A pair of Oystercatcher and a pair of Avocet were on the Dumbles scrape.

Zeiss Hide
Another windy day with just a hardy group of 27 Avocet on the scrape. A pair of Oystercatcher were near the Van de Bovenkamp Hide along with half of the 328 Wigeon on view from the hide, the rest being scattered along the shoreline or in a small group to the north end of the field.

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